Great Basketball Videos

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Watch "King James" when he was still a young "prince". In 2000, LeBron still played high school basketball at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School (in his hometown: Akron, Ohio). His amazing basketball talent was undoubtedly already visible and earned him a three-time "Mr. Basketball of Ohio".

LeBron already scored an average of 21 points and 6 rebounds per game and developed to 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals per game in his sophomore year.

For a couple of his team's games, the "Fighting Irish" had to actually use the local university's (University of Akron, Ohio) arena to keep up with the ticket demand as everybody wanted to see LeBron showcase his amazing talent.

Finally, here is a VIDEO of Saturday's 2013 Nike Hoop Summit.
Great highlights video featuring the best of the US and international basketball talents

The international talents defeated the US selection 112-98 lead by French Livio Jean-Charles ("MVP" - though not formally granted: 27 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks) , German Dennis Schröder ("German Wunderkind", great talent, very quick, most likely secured a first round pick for the upcoming NBA draft: 18 and added 6 assists) and Canadian Andrew Wiggins (Canadian basketball prodigy: 17 points, 9 rebounds). On the US team, Jabari Parker stood out with 22 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Germany's top basketball talent scored 18 points and made 6 assists. He drew a lot of attention and increased his chances for a first round pick at the NBA drafts. draftexpress.com currently lists him as top20 1st round pick for the 2013 drafts. Some experts compared Dennis' speed, agility and overall game to Rajan Rondo. That's definitely a better comparison than Dirk Nowitzki, who dominated the 19998 Nike Hoop Summit 15 years ago (video here. Nike Hoop Summit 1998 feat. Dirk Nowitzki).

My favorite 2013 Nike Hoop Summit players:

Livio Jean-Charles (France) was the top scorer with 27 points and amazing 13 rebounds and 2 blocks on top

Jabari Parker (USA) with 22 points - however, disappointing performance from the 3-point-line: He only made 1 out of 9 (!) attempts. Positive: 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks

Here is the full official scorer's report of the 2013 Nike Hoop Summit featuring the world's greatest basketball talents.

The "World Team" won against the "USA Junior National Select Team" 112-98 on Saturday, April 20th at the Rose Garden in Portland, Oregon. That is the only the 5th win for the international roster and the 1st time that the World Team has recorded two consecutive-wins over the USA at Nike Hoop Summit which has been taking place for 16 years.

Livio Jean-Charles (France) was the top scorer with 27 points (plus 13 rebounds and 2 blocks!), followed by Jabari Parker (USA) with 22 points. A couple of great young players followed close: Both Julius Randle and Andrew Harrison scored 19 (both US), German top talent Dennis Schröder scored 18 (plus highest number of assists: 6). Canadian basketball prodigy Andrew Wiggins scored 17 points.

However, to be perfectly honest, talented Dennis Schroeder still has to work a lot on his game. Don't get me wrong. All the players drafted for the Hoop Summit are the best among their peers and have a fair chance to make it to the NBA at some point, but from the video below, it seems Dennis Schroeder will most likely not dominate the match like Nowitzki did 15 years ago - especially as Andrew Wiggins is most likely going shine again.

Anyway, best luck and a great career in basketball for Dennis and the rest of the great talent!